Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-11-16-Speech-2-069"
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"en.20041116.9.2-069"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, my speech will focus on the proposal for a Council regulation establishing a financial support instrument to support the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community, a proposal which, in my capacity as rapporteur, I greatly welcome.
EUR 259 million have been earmarked to support the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community until the end of 2006. These funds were originally to have been released only after Kofi Annan’s plan had been adopted, with the aim of reducing the significant economic disadvantage suffered by the Turkish Cypriot community. After the vast majority of Turkish Cypriots voted in favour of the plan in February, but the Greek Cypriots against it, so that the plan could not be adopted, the Council recommended that the financial support instrument be implemented even without an agreement having been reached in Cyprus.
In my capacity as rapporteur for the Committee on Foreign Affairs, I can say, on its behalf, that our support for this plan is unanimous. At this point I should also like to express my sincere thanks for the excellent cooperation within the Committee on Foreign Affairs. The Community aid provided for in this regulation can and should help to achieve greater compliance with the
in order to prepare for the takeover which will be necessary after a solution to the Cyprus issue has been found, and indeed one of the primary aims of this financial support instrument is to promote such a solution. We greatly welcome the fact that around EUR 260 million has been allocated for projects relating to the environment, transport, telecommunications, water and/or energy, for restructuring measures, for example in rural areas, for measures which are of particular benefit to small and medium-sized enterprises, and for bicommunal projects which facilitate trust-building between ethnic groups. Measures can and should of course be planned for Famagusta, in order to make it suitable for habitation again, and you will be aware that relevant initiatives are underway in the town.
My report notes that the planned measures must not infringe the property rights of EU citizens. We have reiterated this point, even though we know that it has always been self-evident that this principle must be observed when implementing European projects. All the members of the committee were unanimous in their support for the Commission’s additional proposal that the measure as a whole be managed by the Agency for Reconstruction. The point I should like to make to Mr Samuelsen is that there is broad support for this proposal, and this is something upon which we all agree.
As has already been noted by Mr Patten and the Council, financial support is part of the package proposed by the Commission in July. Although Parliament has no official right of consultation with regard to the direct trade which has also been proposed, I believe that this House will make it clearly known to the Council tomorrow that a prompt decision is expected on the trade proposal, just as we expect a prompt decision on the financial support element.
In my opinion, it is crucial that the EU should send out a clear signal to the Turkish Cypriot community by implementing this proposal for a regulation and the proposed direct trade. This signal would be directed in particular at the large majority which voted for the Annan plan and for a ‘yes’ to the European Union, and it would make it clear that, although we want a swift solution to the Cyprus issue, we are also, even today, taking the concerns of Turkish Cypriot civil society very seriously. It is in the interests of all Cypriots and in the interests of positive developments in Cyprus that the democratic, pro-European forces in the Turkish Cypriot community receive backing and do not under any circumstances abandon their fight.
I hope that Parliament will, by means of this report, help to achieve this, and I expect and hope that the Council will follow suit very shortly."@en1
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